Wild Card
by Sky's Eternity
Summary: Another secret has come to light in the Dursley household, but what exactly is the connection between Harry and this mysterious Eyeshield 21?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Eyeshield 21, both belong to their respective owners so please support the official releases.

Summary: Another secret has come to light in the Dursley household, but what exactly is the connection between Harry and this mysterious Eyeshield 21?

Warnings: Possible OC's and OOCness, het, possible Slash (undecided), AU, Language, possible character death. Chapter NOT Beta'd, if interested please say so in your review!

Note: This is an experimental fic between myself and Barrels of Monkeys, the two of us were exchanging ideas back and forth until we came up with this idea. Together we will use the same prompt and take it in different directions, so please make sure to go and see her version out as well! And remember, if Barrel of Monkeys and I receive a good responses we will continue!

Chapter 1: The truce

The summer was going exactly as Harry had been forced to accept, since the little fiasco with Dobby and the cake he had been remotely surprised that the Dursleys had once again picked up at Kings Cross to bringing him back to Private Drive for another year. Barely any words had been exchanged between them with the occasional glare here and there followed by a wretched sneer, at first he had thought Vernon would have throttled him alive for using 'his' abnormality in the house choosing to leaving him alone instead. Either his uncle had developed a severe case of paranoia after receiving the notification from the Ministry or something bad was going to happen. At least to him anyway.

The less than subtle glances between Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had not gone unnoticed. Simply ignored.

Dudley had become somewhat bold during the summer and his attitude seemed to have amplified, unfortunately the small whale hadn't gained an ounce of IQ much to Harry's amusement as his cousin had become easier to manipulate and dodge. Unfortunately, the ranks of idiots and fellow bullies had also gained a major increase as Dudley has decided to play their old favorite game of 'Harry Hunting' in order to celebrate his new so-called friends.

Harry had never been more grateful for his speed and agility as he had been at that moment, not that it was hard. Bullies also seemed to draw in the biggest and stupidest of the bunch like bees to honey. In a similar manner as the hierarchy of Slytherin house, rather lack thereof, and how they operated. Power and money was the main source of their leadership as many of the students in the house of serpents came from Pureblooded families that had fully supported the ideologies of Voldemort and his followers, which explained the amount of influence and control Malfoy held upon the other Slytherins in house though he knew for certain that it wasn't Draco that they were frighten of but rather his father, Lucius Malfoy. Even he found himself unable to deny the man's power, though the man was just as unintelligent just like, if not even more so than his son.

Having manipulated the man into freeing Dobby had been one of the easiest things he managed to pull, granted he also got the senior Malfoy to be pissed off but it had been worth it in the end. And, he gained a valuable ally in one go.

Making that day seem like the best end of the school year day Harry had in a long time. That enjoyment had come to end after being back at the Dursleys after only a few days, once again forced to do the chores of the house as the rest of them were plumped in front of the TV. Dudley, anyway. Vernon had been going through the morning paper searching it madly, clearly looking for the business section to check the progress of Grunnings; since with the amount of construction reaching an all time high, the company had skyrocketed in profit reaping in customers like no tomorrow. With the overtime that had been thrust upon Vernon shoulders, the man had appeared to be happy.

In all honesty; it freaked him out. Happy and Vernon did not go in the same sentence as far as he was concerned.

His Aunt Petunia supported him full heartedly, mesmerized by the amount of money being brought into their home before she had begun listing the many wants and needs which were a _must_in her eyes. Not that they even truly needed it.

Harry found it difficult to grasp and understand materialistic desires, hardly ever owning something of his own until he had started Hogwarts. Even then the sentimental attachments he had were only to the photo album of his parents, the invisibility cloak that belonged to his father and Hedwig, on a lower level his broomstick. The items held a very deep and special place within his heart being the first presents he had received in a meaningful manner, of course Harry cared deeply for his owl. She was the reason he was still sane and remained alive at Private Drive, Harry wished she could have provided her with a better home so she could hunt for her food whenever and spread her wings.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible until reaching the age of majority: seventeen. He was stuck with the Dursleys for another few years that was something Harry had come to accept. After surviving for almost his entire life another four year wasn't going to kill him.

Besides, it wasn't as if he hadn't tried to tell people about his relatives. The attempts during his childhood were fruitless with the adults in question disbelieved his claim, forgot or simply vanished never to be heard from again. At that point Harry had learned to keep his mouth shut and endure, relying solemnly on himself. Just like always. Despite Ron and the twins knowing the living conditions nothing would happen as a large sense of doubt had stayed firmly in his heart, not like anything had happened and if he knew Ron well, which he did; there would be no way in hell he'd still be with the Dursleys.

That hadn't stopped him for wanting...wishing to have someone, anyone that was family, other than the Dursleys, to be out there.

"Aha!" Vernon declared loudly, nodding pleased and grinned wildly with his mustache ruffling underneath. "Pet, my dear, come over here for a moment!" Waiting for his wife to beckon his call and held one section of the newspaper in his hand while the rest was placed onto the table. "It looks like our summer vacation this year will definitely please you!"

Petunia hurried over quickly now at the mention of the vacation, greedily leaning over his shoulder and skimmed the article furiously. "Oh my!" Her eyes widened with delight, and smiled at Vernon as she rewarded him with a mighty kiss on the cheek. "You remembered!"

"Well of course," Vernon remarked smugly, attempting to look romantic. "How could I forget? It was our favorite place after all!"

Harry resisted the urge to vomit on the spot witness how gushy his Aunt and Uncle were being. He had nothing against showing affection in public but seeing Vernon and Petunia go at it was enough to make any sane person ill, deciding to turn away for the sake of his stomach and returned to cleaning the table. His motivation to finish the job had been doubled with the scene practically being played out in front of him, the faster he went the faster he could get away and pretend that it never happened.

Ignoring Dudley, whom reached over to grab the newspaper to find the comics and glance through the sports section as he had developed an interest in boxing during the time Harry had been away. He sincerely doubted that his cousin held a sincere interest in the sport as the primary function of it was using their fists, something that Dudley thoroughly loved. The blonde boy flipped through the pages, searching intensely for the section before coming to a halt and staring before squinting his eyes.

Not bothering to question Dudley's antics he continued on cleaning. But when Dudley's eyes began to flicker from the page to him and back, he had began to wonder if Dudley had finally lost it or was going blind and needed glasses. A small snort escaped unintentionally, quickly masked it when his Aunt and Uncle threw him a glare. Yet, the glances had not stopped but seemed to slow down.

"Oi," Dudley announced, his pig face screwed up focused on Harry. "This bloke in the paper looks an awful lot like you, Potter!" Throwing the page towards his direction and glared disgustedly at Harry. "Do you know him or something?" He sneered. "Well?"

Giving Dudley a weird look his eyes shifted towards the section carefully looking at the heading of the paper, briefly mentioning the American university called Notre Dame and their Football team. They gloriously detailed their accomplishment of their key member, Eyeshield 21 and how far the teen had come. Raising an eyebrow at his cousin, his eyes looked at the photo located near the side noting a bunch of young teens with arms draped over each other's shoulders smiling like no tomorrow was deeply focused on. He had begun to look at each teen taking careful observation of their features and moved to one in particular, a young teen whose face was covered by an eyeshield, thankfully Harry was able to get a good look at the boy.

His eyes and facial structure reminded him of his father.

Dudley had gotten impatient beginning to tap his foot loudly. "Well Potter? Do you know this Eyeshield 21 one or not?"

"I..." He choked out the words finding himself unable to look away, a sense of familiarity started to surface from his memory. "Think so?" It sounded like a question instead of a statement. "Does the article listen what his name says?"

Before Dudley and Harry were able to do anything at all the paper was roughly grabbed out of their hands by a flushed looking Vernon, whom smiled crookedly as his hands bent the paper. "W-well boys, I-I think it's time to for a break, don't you think so Pet?" Glancing over to Petunia rapidly, sweat rolling down his forehead.

The woman swallowed thinly. "Why... yes," She agreed. "Yes. Of course that is a wonderful idea, c'mon now. Dudley...Harry," Spiting out his name venomously. Pushing the boys aggressively into the kitchen sending Vernon looks as she did so. "We'll join you in just one moment," and slammed the door.

"It's like one big mystery after another with you, isn't it?" Dudley stated dryly.

Harry shot him a look. "Please stop making this my fault. I have no idea what's going on but obviously you're parents are hiding something from me-from us AGAIN!" Rolling his eyes at the blonde, Harry went over to the door and carefully opened the door. "You stay quiet!"

"I want to hear too you know!"

He didn't comment on that.

"What are _we _going to do Vernon!" Came Petunia's hysterical voice pacing back and forth in the room, arms folded upon her chest, as she threw him a nervous look. "After everything we've done and vowed, ever since the boy had discovered the truth, it has all come flying right back into our faces!" Coming to a halt in front of Vernon, she grabbed him. "Why now of all times! M...maybe we shouldn't have gotten rid of the other-"

Vernon placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't finish that sentence my love! We did what we believed was right. And it has, hasn't it?" Pulling her into a hug as he gently rubbed her back. "Don't worry Petunia, nothing is going to happen. I promise," Parting from the hug and stared at her. "What we do now is act like nothing happened. No one has to know about this, alright?" He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Just follow my lead."

Petunia sniffed, smiling awkwardly. "Always"

That was enough for both the teens closing the door quietly waiting in silence for the two to enter the kitchen. Another secret that Vernon and Petunia had been keeping from Harry, involving him, was some how related to that boy in the photo and knowing them they'd probably destroyed it.

"Damn it," Harry cursed slamming one fist into his hand. "Why are they doing this and what are they keeping from me?"

Dudley snorted. "Because you're a freak that's why!"

"Thanks for sentiment," He rebutted icily.

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Oh don't go and get your knickers in a knot, I have a plan to help you discover that little secret that my folks are hiding from you."

"Why?" Harry asked cautiously staring at the whale-like boy.

"Because," Dudley began arrogantly. "I know something that you don't that we could use to our advantage, and I'd be able to one up my parents for once. I don't like that they're keeping secrets from me as well Potter," answering calmly before he sneered. "And don't think I'm getting cosy with you."

Harry glared. "Won't dream of it, so what do you know that I don't?"

"Aunt Marge is coming over," The blonde retorted maliciously, smirked at Harry's fallen expression. "Look at it this way Potter, it will be your one and only chance to find out the truth."

"What do you mean?"

Dudley shook his head amused. "Don't you remember, it's the one and only time Mum allows herself to go a wee bit over the usual." He watched in satisfaction as Harry came to an understanding. "So do we have a truce?" He held out his hand towards him.

Harry stared at it for several moments, briefly shutting his eyes and took Dudley's hand.

"You got yourself a truce."

* * *

Chapter One-End.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I own Eyeshield 21, both respective to their respective owners. Please support the official release.

Warning: Not beta'd.

Chapter Two: Get Away

Dread was the only thing Harry was capable of feeling at the moment as the day when Aunt Marge arrived had finally come. To say that he merely disliked the woman was an understatement, flat out loathing her with every fibre of his being and it was quite mutual. However, now was not the time to allow his own feelings to cloud his judgement as he needed to get the information that was needed from Petunia and Vernon, and since there was no other way to get the information Harry desired. Enduring the impossible was what he did best.

His birthday had passed just the other day, a part of thought about asking Hermione's and Ron's help in searching for any information about his brother or ways that would help shorten the search. Only something had prevented himself doing so.

It was something that Harry found himself unable to explain, like a force within that stopped him whenever he tried to write anything about what had transpired several days ago. The newspaper from that day was safely kept in his room deep inside his Potion books at the very back, Dudley was able to distract them after their discussion allowing him to move in and grab it. It had been rare for him and his cousin to team up as they were now though Harry sincerely doubted that it would ever happen again, the reason that they agreed to the truce was because it benefited them both in the long run. One side had Dudley having one up on his parents while the other side had him getting what he needed.

It was a win-win situation as far as Harry could see.

And of course, it would be done magic free. The previous year had nearly rendered him magicless for the summer if he had been smart enough to cut a deal with his Uncle about doing extra chores, not that he didn't do all of them, either way Vernon had caved allowing him his school supplies. Petunia hadn't been fond of the idea making it known whenever he was in the room, verbally or by expression. He ignored it.

The only thing Harry truly cared about at the moment was keeping his end of the bargain that had been made earlier in the day. As long as he played about the story that Vernon had fed to Marge, the man would sign his slip allowing him to venture into Hogsmeade; the town located near Hogwarts. While Hogwarts felt like home to him even Harry could not deny the excitement at being able to see the visit outside of the castle walls, hearing stories from the older students from time to time plus there was a chance to use going into the shops in his advantage being able to access books and materials other then the library and the bookstore at Diagon Alley; Flourish and Blotts which he planned on checking out upon shopping for his third year books.

However, as much as Harry loved and looked forward to heading back to Hogwarts his mind was currently occupied on the teen in the photo. He was able to see the male's face almost clearly, this time. The distinctive black hair and dark eyes, that reminded him deeply of his father. His heart tugged roughly within his chest the longer he stared at the photo, his mind came to halt doing so. Whatever the connection between this teen and him was, Harry desperately wanted to know.

Somewhere deep inside he already knew the answer. But having his hopes and dreams crushed again and again almost made it unbearable to acknowledge until he heard with his own ears. Perhaps, it was his own selfishness surface, which wasn't very often. He could never allow it to. Both at Private Drive and Hogwarts, not with the constant threat of Voldemort running lose. Frankly, that was the least of his worries as the wizard was probably still out there thriving to survive.

Before his train of thought could continue the sounds of a car pulling up had rattled him back to reality, the inevitable had arrived. Harry took a deep breath and exhaled the air, promptly heading downstairs wearing a forced cheerful smile.

Not that it mattered.

Dudley and Petunia were already waiting near the door, rather Petunia pacing back and forth murmuring under her breath wearing a strained smile that revealed the wrinkles on her face. She had about as a high opinion of Marge as Harry did the difference between them was he only had to deal with her ever so often as Petunia was related to her through marriage. Their shared loathing and dread of the woman was the one thing that they shared in common, not that they acknowledge it. If anything they preferred to refuse to spend much time around each other as possible and even more so, pretending that the other didn't exist which was normal in the Dursley Household.

His cousin was parked in front of the television watching the latest episode of one of his shows only to get disgruntled as another report of the escaped convict, Black, appeared on the screen. The whale-like boy changed the channel upon the bulletin to another station that had his show. Another pound for his worth, as Vernon would put it. Excluding Vernon, Dudley was looking forward to Marge's visit, as she showered him constantly with gifts and presents much like his parents did.

Harry was surprised that Dudley hadn't become the size of a planet, with the way he was going and all.

"Oh Marge!" Petunia greeted in a false cheerful, as the door opened revealing the obese woman that resembled a feminine version of her husband. Walking over towards the woman and exchanged a tight hug, that nearly suffocated her by the looks of it. The fake smile plastered widely. "Shall I take you your coat? I trust getting here alright?"

The obese woman bellowed loudly. "It's good to see you as well, Petunia! And yes, that would be absolutely delightful. The trip was alright, could have gone better ya know. Sat beside this young couple," Shaking her head with a firm frown upon her face. "I sincerely doubt that they'll last long, not like you and Vernon my dear." Her eyes scanned the room landing upon Dudley, rushing to him like an elephant to water. "There he is! My neffy poo!"

Harry and Petunia almost gagged.

His eyes flicked to the woman's arm watching as she reached out and pulled Dudley into a tight huge, followed by a huge kiss on his forehead. Tilting his head to the side he was able to see an old bull dog, angry as usual. Harry was not looking forward to spending time with the canine. The memory having been chased up and tree and stuck there until midnight was still fresh in his memory.

The adults proceeded into the kitchen hurriedly leaving himself and his cousin in the living room.

"So what's the plan?" Harry asked Dudley, breaking the silence. His curiosity wondered what exactly the whale like boy managed to cook up, as he had practically avoided him the other day locked into his room. "I'm assuming that you have one, right?"

The blonde sneered at him. "Don't get all friendly with me Potter. Once this is over you and I will go back to being enemies, understand?" Not giving time for him to respond, he took out a piece of white paper from his pocket and held it out to him. "I made sure to write everything down for tonight, including possibilities. Aunt Marge is going to get you angry by any means necessary, knowing her. So don't get angry you hear?" Narrowing his eyes into a glare directed at Harry. "Keep it under control and your head down. Aunt Marge and Dad will be plastered around 7 or so, and head to the living room or straight to bed. At that time, Mum will be alone, that is when _you _move in."

Harry stared at him. "That's... surprisingly elaborate."

"What? I may not be good at school doesn't mean I'm an idiot." The blonde shot back at him. "I'm the only that's helping you with this, let's not forget shall we?"

"Right." Harry agreed, stiffly keeping his eyes trained on his cousin. "Of course, by that time Aunt Petunia should be tipsy?"

Dudley rolled his eyes sending him a flat look. "Mum barely has a tolerance to alcohol. One glass and she's done for. I should know, I've seen her do it multiple times." When Harry didn't comment the blonde continued. "So trust me, it will work."

"I trust you."

The overweight boy gave him a look. "No. You don't. Then again, I don't have much reason to trust you either so I guess we're even. Aren't we?"

"I suppose," Harry replied nonchalantly at the boy refusing to give up his ground. His distrust of his cousin was well founded in his opinion never before working together with Dudley in the past, not even school work. While the planned sounded thought out and somewhat detailed, his instincts telling him firmly to keep his guard up. "I'll follow through with your plan. Don't worry."

"Yeah, yeah," Dudley dismissed with a sneer elbowing him as he strode straight into the kitchen door, throwing him a glare. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come and eat some dinner?"

Harry resisted the urge to glare. "I'm coming," Murmuring under his breath and followed him straight into the kitchen.

* * *

The day had done about as successful as his cousin had predicted it would have gone, not even five minutes into it Marge began to sling insults at him like no tomorrow. Coming to believe that he attended St. Brutus the school incurable boys, which Harry sincerely doubted existed as his Uncle informed her and the neighbours to stop rousing any suspicion of his disappearances during the school year. Her insults had become utterly laughable given the years that he had last seen her, easily rolling off of his back while attending to the cleaning. Compared to Snape, she was a novice at insulting. Then again she did have the Dursley genes running through her.

It took all of his willpower to push back the urge to snap at the woman as her insults began to become bolder and bolder with each passing minute, slowly hitting the nail upon his parents. The sound of glass breaking reached his ear, almost wincing as he could practically feel his Aunt and Uncle's eyes burn holes at the back of his head. Cursing himself for letting his emotions get the better of him, and moved into clean the broken glass shattered on the table and floor.

Skipping upstairs to hide in his room sounded good at this point. Unfortunately, Harry knew better then to even try as he'd be dragged right back down to suffer with Petunia. Recomposing himself and getting his emotions back in control were his top priorities, telling himself that the night was almost over and then he could leave. It was a part of the plan, get the information and then to the Leaky Cauldron. After all, neither his Aunt nor Uncle said he had to remain during Marge's entire visit.

Unfortunately, it felt like time was against him feeling as dinner had dragged on hearing the belligerent remarks from the woman, once again targeting his parents comparing his mother to "bad breeding" following up with calling his father a "lazy good for nothing".

He kept on chanting the permission slip in his head as Marge went on and on at his parents and how they died in the so-called "car crash" refusing to allow the hag to win. She was drunk out of her mind rambling onwards without a care in the world who heard. He gripped onto the chair angrily, forcing a crooked smile across his face straight at Vernon and Petunia.

"I think I'm going to head to bed. After all, tomorrow will be a long day, won't it?" Harry asked, curbing his words carefully.

Vernon exchanged a quick glance at Petunia. "Very well, boy. You can head to bed, but no noise or anything else do you hear me?"

"I would never dream of it, Uncle Vernon." Harry replied in a sickeningly sweet voice, the smile remained spread across his face and bid Petunia a nod while exchanging a glance at Dudley, whom shot him a poisonous look. His lips twitched threatening to turn into an actual smile until he masked it. "Good night Aunt Marge." Before she could even retort, he nearly bolted straight to his room again without looking back. The gleeful expression was hidden upon turning his back to them, heading to his room and greeted Hedwig.

The snowy white owl was perched on her swing staring inquisitively at him.

"We won't have to be here much longer. At least, for Aunt Marge's visit anyhow," Harry informed her making his way into the chair and stared into the pair of amber eyes. His gazed softened at her, letting loose a soft sigh. "After I get what we need, we'll head straight for Diagon Alley. Alright? That way you can stretch your wings as much as you like," His smile twitched as Hedwig let out a happy hoot. "Glad to hear that you're in agreement!"

The owl ruffled her wings and glared at him.

"Sorry!" Harry laughed, holding up his hands in defense as Hedwig shook her head and turned to the window. The breeze of the wind brushed up against him, relaxing him a bit as he dug out his Potions book opening it to the page where the newspaper laid. Placing it upon the desk, skimming his finger against the picture straight to the bottom; unfortunately the teen with the eyeshield over his face, did not have his name underneath and was simply called: "Eyeshield 21".

Why would they hide his name from the public? It didn't make sense to him. It was just a sport and position, wasn't it?

He could already feel a throbbing pain in his head. Too many questions and so few answers, he'd have to resort to other methods. Heading to Gringotts seemed like his best bet, as they dealt with money and family issues. However, Harry bit his lip contemplating, if they were unable to help what could he do?

"No," He told himself firmly, staring directly at the picture. "I can't think like that. I've just started, giving up isn't an option. Especially not now!"

Hedwig beamed, hooting happily.

A blush appeared on his face, as Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well I've said now. So that means I have to follow through, right girl?" The amber eyes glinted approving of his words once again hooting out her response, leaning over and tried to nibble his finger with affection. All that he had to do now was wait another hour before being able to venture back downstairs to question Petunia, the how fast the day seemed to be going it wouldn't be much longer.

He had turned his attention towards the homework that had been assigned during the holidays, the majority of it already finished and edited. At least going over everything again would past the time, and brushing up on his knowledge for the upcoming term.

As of which he had received the notice regarding the standard letter from Professor McGonagall on the day of his birthday, outlining the needed courses and whatnot. During the previous year he had chosen the courses for the year, only know Harry was beginning to have second thoughts on the matter; Divination sounded interesting and all as did the Care of Magical Creatures, but looking back he recalled the Study of Ancient Runes. He hadn't to get much detail of the course from Percy, whom he had asked during last year only being told to "play by his strengths" before walking off. Now that he was thinking about it thoughtfully, an idea sprouted in his mind.

Pulling a sheet of parchment from his trunk and his ink, Harry quickly wrote a detailed letter before stuffing it into his pocket. He'd wait until getting to Diagon Alley to send the letter, it would be a much shorter wait and give him time to think about the decision.

The sound of lights and thumping finally managed to snap him back to reality, noticing the dark underneath his door. He carefully removed himself from the chair moving towards the door and going up against it, placing his ear against the door to hear better. Incoherent noises easily penetrated his ear, mumbling lowly and hiccupping along the way.

_'Vernon,'_Harry thought to himself, letting out a sigh of relief. A drunken Vernon was practically harmless, merely annoying and far too happy for his tastes, which was odd as he had always thought growing up that the man would be a violent drunk or a very depressing one. As far as he was concerned it was his luck shining through again, opening the door and quietly headed to the stairs. His eyes glancing back to his Aunt and Uncle's bedroom ever split second.

He couldn't afford to waste any more time and headed straight into the kitchen, seeing Petunia holding a glass of wine in her hand wearing the strangest smile he had ever seen her wear. In fact, it was downright creepy and hoped to never see it again.

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked cautiously, the woman's eyes landed on him gleaming strangely. Taking another step forward towards her, he swallowed the fear building up inside. "Are you alright?"

The horse-woman giggled. "Alright? Am I alright? I'm absolutely _happy!_" Thrusting her glass straight into the air, the smile stayed. Before grabbing the glass of wine and pouring more into the cup, she then beckoned him over. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to join me?" She began tapping the seat next to her roughly. "Come! Come!"

'_This is getting to be a bit too much,_' Harry thought to himself, taking the seat in front of the giggling and smiling woman before him. "Umm..Aunt Petunia?"

"Yes?"

Harry ignored the urge to cringe at the smile. "I have something I want to ask you." The glazed eyes of the woman locked onto his waiting for the question. "Was I alone when you found me?"

"_Found?"_ The woman repeated, the smile twitched turning deranged as the tone went an octave higher as if she had heard something hilarious. "We never _found_you. You and the other boy were dropped off on to our doorstep the night of Lily's and that Potter bastard's death!"

"Other boy?"

Petuina's face screwed up and becoming malicious and filled with hate. "Yes. That bratty bastard, looked too much like your father for my liking! Protected you he did, hated us with a passion. That brother of yours! I didn't like him either, too defiant and loud." Wrinkling her nose in disgust, her smile reappeared holding the twisted edge. "We gave him up! Didn't want to have another mouth to feed under this roof! Only needed you around because of the protection, why bother keeping the other?"

"You _what?_" Harry stared at his Aunt in complete disbelief. How could she do that? "Where is he? What is his name? How did you give him up was it an orphanage?"

The horse-woman giggled again, in hilarity. "No! No! No orphanage, just threw him somewhere, don't care where or anything at all. He's out our lives, and I finally managed to one up Lily! I have the most perfectest boy in the whole world, me! Not her. Just one child, you see!"

Harry's teeth gritted together, his anger rising at a rapid rate trying to calm it down after hearing those words. Just how low could Aunt Petunia get? "What was his name?"

"I don't know!" She announced cheerfully, throwing her arms about slipping the wine on the ground. "I didn't care to find out. I-we, wanted him gone. That's a_ll_I cared about."

His body began to shake violently the longer he remained sitting. Quickly digging through his pocket he pulled out the permission slip and slide it towards her, grabbing the nearest pen. "Aunt Petunia." His tone harsh and barely concealing his anger. "Could you please sign this?"

The drunken woman complied without as much need of persuading, signing the note legible.

"Thank you," Harry stated curtly, grabbing the note underneath once again stuffing it back into his pocket. "Have a good night." Pushing him off the seat, ignoring the pleasant farewell from Petunia, he was rather surprised that she was also a happy drunk. However, that didn't matter to him. No, what mattered was finding his brother. Dudley had said that the teen wearing the helmet with the mask looked an awful lot like him that was enough hope to hold on to.

If there was one thing he had learned; Potters were difficult to kill.

Without caring he charged upstairs and grabbed his trunk from his room, his wand in his hand along with Hedwig's cage. He couldn't stay in the same room, let alone the house with Petunia any longer. Afraid that if he did the woman would be no more!

After dealing with Lucius Malfoy and his attempt at murder the previous year the thought of someone even viler seemed difficult to believe. Now Harry realized that it wasn't.

Proceeding just outside of the Dursleys, he quietly closed and door bending down to his knees unlocking Hedwig's cage, watching the snowy white owl jumped out and perched herself upon his shoulder. Her beck rubbed against neck, tickling him.

"H-hey Hedwig!" Harry muffled his laughs into his hand, his eyes softened at her. "I knew you were dying to get out of that cage, weren't you?" He gave his head a good shake looking apologetic. "I'm sorry Hedwig. At least you'll be able to get wing room?"

The owl levelled him a look that was equal to a glare.

He shrugged his shoulders, with a small smile glancing at the lamplights. "This going to be one long night, Hedwig. A really long night, better get started," The roughly sounded caught him by surprise. "Or...find the nearest shelter, let's go girl." Placing the cage back into the trunk, he gripped the handle and walked to the end of the street.

Unaware of the pair of eyes prying at him.

* * *

He had been right. The night did turn out to be rather long.

Upon leaving the Dursleys he had somehow ended up calling the Knight Bus, a magical bus that could travel faster than a blink of an eye, and ended up learning much about the escaped convict known as Sirius Black; whom turned out to be a major support of Voldemort, practically his right hand. The man managed to escape Azkaban, the wizarding prison, which was deemed neigh impossible the rest of the British populace a feat that had invoked fear among the public as far as Harry had gathered from Stan, the conductor of the Knight Bus had told him in much detail about Black. The man's photo definitely made the man look rather unstable and deranged.

The Knight Bus managed to get him to the Leaky Cauldron, as Tom booked a room for him straight away the moment he had arrived. Collapsing upon the bed on he had gotten the chance, the window was left open for Hedwig whenever she would arrive in the morning. Which she had.

Unfortunately, when the next day finally rolled around he had been greeted with none other than Cornelius Fudge the Minister of Magic. The man in question apparently had been looking for him since he had left the Dursley household last night; the so called protection that his Aunt had mentioned somehow alerted them when he left. To say that he was annoyed at monitored was an understatement. How and why they were was the main cause of his concern, was due to the previous year's incident or because of his status as the Boy-who-lived? He wasn't so sure he liked the idea of them knowing when he wasn't at the house. Was it even legal?

The talk between them had come to an end, mostly being filled with concern about the suddenness of his leaving and made him stay near the Leaky Cauldron. The usual talk, at least from what he had seen and heard from other children; Harry wasn't sure if it was usual actually now that he thought about it. Not having a good parental role model had left him rather confused at some actions he had seen parents given towards their children, but he managed to grasp the basics.

Now was not the time to think about that. He had a job to do.

Heading straight to Diagon Alley, wand in hand and fully clothed, he ventured through the passage and promptly went towards Flourish and Blotts. He wasn't planning on purchasing anything as of yet just browsing the selection to see if anything struck his fancy or was capable of helping him for what he had to do.

He was caught by surprise at seeing how busy the place was during summer vacation, than again that must have been the reason. It was the summer after all. Harry dodged the bustling crowds carefully trying not to bump into anyone along the way, and ignoring some of the stares as he did so. After two years at Hogwarts he had successfully mastered the ability to not care about people's eyes being on him, it had become a part of his daily life nowadays. Admittedly, it was still creepy.

Getting closer to the bookstore he made a dash towards it, effectively passing through the bystanders in his way and made a sharp turn. His body spun around making another cut around a couple, pausing for a moment and darted again to make his way to the door. Grabbing onto the ledge of the door, Harry pushed himself inside and-

Abruptly, the change in his weight had shifted and he was somehow ended up on the floor staring up at a red haired girl that was laying on top of him, staring down at him with cold eyes.

The girl blinked slowly for several moments. "Harry Potter?"

..."Daphne Greengrass?"

The shared the silence moment together both trying to process what had just happened.

"What are _you _doing here?"

* * *

Chapter two end.

And so ends the second chapter of Wild Card, I sincerely hoped that you've all enjoyed. Unfortunately this chapter is still un-beta'd, so if you're interested in being the beta please drop a line in the review!

Make sure to leave constructive criticism in the review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Connections

Several moment passed as the two stared at each other, both bewildered by the other's presence in each other's view and unable to look away. However, Daphne managed to regain her sense, summoning her stoic mask onto her face.

"I must say it is a surprise to be seeing you here of all places, Potter. I thought you'd be too busy gallivanting with your friends Granger and Weasley," She commented airily waving her hand in a dismissive action and adjusted her skit while keeping her eyes remained on him. "Then again I suppose it's not a complete surprise that even you of all people needed some space. However, is it really safe for you to be wandering about so openly?"

For a brief moment Harry could have sworn that there had been a hint of concern and worry within her voice, but eventually he ignored it. The ice queen of Slytherin wasn't known for being affectionate let alone caring for anyone other than her sister, Astoria. Which wasn't all that surprising as from what he had noticed any member of the Slytherin House that wasn't under Malfoy's thumb remained to themselves, it was safer and kept them from being lumped into the same category as other particular members of the serpents had been; notably Zabini and Nott, whom initially were not part of the group, but still held the same ideas and targeted those that were beneath them yet they never went too far, if only to keep themselves from being discovered. Not that it mattered. With Snape on their side none of them could be punished for their actions. They gleefully flaunted the immunity at the rest of the houses mockingly.

It sickened him even further, proving how ineffective of a teacher the greasy haired git truly was. Not that Dumbledore was truly any better in his opinion, even if Harry respected the man, sometimes he wondered just how blind he was.

But that was neither here nor that was at this point.

"I do have a life outside of Ron and Hermione, Greengrass. Contrary to the popular belief the three of us are not attached at the hip," Harry responded flatly, raising an eyebrow and giving a tiny smirk. But the emotion reflected on his face suddenly changed to the opposite, his brows furrowing in confusion. "What exactly are you talking about?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, pinning an exasperated look. "Oh I see, you're going for the brave and clueless? I thought you were better than that Potter."

"No. Really, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Potter, this facade is..." Her words trailed off, she stared at him then her eyes widened, taken aback. "Y... you really have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"

"That's why I'm asking," Harry answered, irritated, massaging his temple and sending the girl a tired look. "Just tell me what's going on here? I'm really not in the mood for any bullshit today."

The auburn haired girl didn't respond immediately, her jaw still dropped but struggling to close it, her eyes blinked rapidly before a fierce expression lined her features. She grabbed him by the arm rather abruptly, throwing her head back at him. "This way," she growled out in frustrations, murmuring incoherently in anger. Her grip proved to be strong, stronger then Hermione's at any rate, tugging him along passing by the crowds of people and he nearly stumbled along the way, uncertain where she was dragging him to.

Not that he was bothering to fight back; it didn't seem like there would be much of a point to it, really. However, that wasn't to say he wasn't the tiniest bit curious as to where Daphne was bringing him anyway. It was unlike the Slytherin girl to react in such a manner and he was so intrigued that he was willing play along for the moment. Oddly enough, no one seemed to spare them even a glance; they were far too busy with their own things. Usually the sounds of gossip could be heard from a mile away pointing out their houses and making petty accusations. Perhaps the real world was truly a different place?

No. Harry didn't really think so. Nothing was that easy, not when the Wizarding World was concerned.

Eventually they came to a small bookstore located not too far from Gringotts bank. They headed straight inside without a hitch, coming to a small wooden table near the windows where three other girls sat. They looked up from their books, staring with mixture of surprise and confusion. One of them Harry recognized far too well, Susan Bones of Hufflepuff House, personally he didn't have a problem with her but that didn't mean he was going to be nice to her especially after how she and the rest of her house had treated him during the previous year. While he came off as an easy and forgiving person which was truly the truth, the callous and cold attitude that the house had adopted – even if it was justified regarding the event where Justin had been petrified – still had gone far too long, nearly driving him out of Hogwarts. He had admired their loyalty to one another, but to act as if they were the so-called 'defenders' against 'evil' was laughable. They ran whenever met with confrontation, jumped to conclusions and whined like babies when they were unable to get what they wanted.

It reminded him eerily of the Slytherin House to a level, but without the racial ideologist being integrated into it. Now it wasn't to say that any house was better or worse than the other, all of them had their flaws and problems; but it was the radical emphasis on their reactions. During his first year, once it had been discovered that Ron, Hermione, Neville and himself had lost a hundred and fifty points, their entire house turned away from them, practically disowning them and ignoring their existence outright and not caring of their excuses. Hufflepuff merely believed if one person had wronged one of their members they had wronged them all and seeking out revenge no matter how petty and hurtful it was, reviling within it like a bunch of animals. Ravenclaw and Slytherin hadn't acted out yet, however, there had been interesting rumors floating around about what Ravenclaws did to oddities, though Harry wasn't able to confirm anything solid.

And in all honesty Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to know how Slytherins acted out once riled up.

Susan, who had some amount of decency, gave a short nod of acknowledgement with a hint of regret flashing through her eyes. "Potter," she greeted neutrally.

"Bones," Harry returned the greeting politely giving a stiff nod towards her direction, his eyes shifted towards the other girl that sat with them. "Ummm...?"

"Su Li." The girl gave a faint smile bowing her head very calmly. "A Ravenclaw in the same year, it is alright, since our Houses are hardly paired together during class; it's understandable that my name would escape you. I hope that we are able to become friends, Potter."

Harry flushed at the elegance of her words and tone rubbing the back of his head, bowing his head back. "Y-Yeah, right back at you Li!"

She smiled gesturing towards the spare seat. "In that case please sit, join us. The more the merrier."

"Umm...thank you," Harry found himself compelled to follow through with the request placing himself into the seat ignoring the stare at Daphne was directed towards him. He felt rather out of place compared to the usual, since outside of Ron and Hermione he had never really talked to anyone else. Though there had been his Quidditch mates, however, they weren't in particular close to him. "So how have your summers been?" He attempted to start a conversation.

"Mine has been delightful," Su answered with a warm smile on her face. "I visited my relatives back in Hong Kong, it was very pleasant."

Susan shrugged her shoulders focusing on the book lying in front of her. "Mine was alright. But with what's going on it could have been much better."

"Why's that?" Harry's brows furrowed not understanding and suddenly found himself being on the receiving end of incredulous stares. His body shifted uncomfortably wondering if he had said something wrong. "W-what did I say?"

Daphne shot Susan a flat look. "Understand why I brought him here now?"

"Yes." The Hufflepuff ran her hand through her hair exasperatedly, switching her gaze towards him wearing a pensive expression with a tight frown. Her eyes flashed with a gleam that appeared too fast for him to interpret, folding her hands onto the table followed by a small sigh as her posture changed into a more business like stance. "Have you been reading the prophet as of lately, Potter?" She asked in a soft gentle tone carried with a sharp edge that caused bells inside head to ring.

"No. Why, should I?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Susan nodded firmly. "Yes, you should have since it concerns you most of all."

"In what way do you mean?" Harry asked, pressing his lips together not entirely trusting to speak further. The quicker he received some answers the faster he'd be able to make some progress of where to go from there.

"Does the name Sirius Black ring a bell to you?" Daphne retorted not allowing a chance for Susan to speak.

This time his eyebrows furrowed themselves in confusion. "You mean the guy that was on the telly –err that's how muggles receiving the news," Harry added hurriedly, desperate to get some information. "He was on a news bulletin before I arrived here and ran into Greengrass. What does that have to do with anything?"

"A lot," Daphne said succinctly. "In fact, that man was not only You-Know-Who's right hand man and responsible for the deaths of twelve or so muggles, but he also happened to be close to your parents. Actually, from what I've managed to dig up Sirius Black was also responsible for outright selling your parents to the Dark Lord."

That piece of information hit Harry like a ton of bricks. His body froze in horror unable to fully comprehend what he had just been told; his hands shook with shock trying to regain control over them but to no avail. Swallowing thickly he stared into the sympathetic stares of Susan, drifting towards the stoic sorrow of Su and lastly the masked expression of Daphne as her words slowly began to settle in his mind. He could tell that what he had been told was the truth. His parents had been betrayed. They had been betrayed by someone that they had trusted. An array of feelings overwhelmed him as shock had dissipated turning into sadness, eventually into anger and hatred before finally deciding upon coldness.

He kept his thoughts to himself opting to observe the three girls since he did not entirely trust himself to speak. Why had Daphne told him this anyway, what purpose did it serve?

"Why tell me this?" Harry asked slowly, pressing his lips together frowning while he spoke.

"Regardless of what you may think of us Slytherins Potter, not all of us are out to get you, nor do we have any animosity towards you. Most of us anyhow," The Ice Queen clarified flippantly, briefly closing her eyes. "However, you suspiciousness is well founded. I cannot fault you for that, especially due to your encounters with Malfoy over the years. I assure you that I wish no ill intent upon you, whether you believe it or not, that is the truth."

"I've known Daphne growing up," Susan reassured backing the girl up. "You can trust her Potter-"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "And I should trust you, Bones? After the stunt you and the other Hufflepuffs pulled last year?"

The girl winced upon being called out of her actions. She had been one of the few that spread the rumor of him being Slytherin Heir, helping to encourage the rest of the Badger House to seek out against him. Upon discovery of his innocence, she hadn't been one of the few that apologized. By no means was Harry the type to hold childish grudges, with the exception of Malfoy and Snape, but that hadn't meant that he was going to forget; and a sting of guilt surfaced upon seeing the shameful look that appeared before he quickly stomped that feeling out. As painful as it had been, he needed to be provided a reason to trust them, too much was riding on this.

If this Black guy had been responsible for his parent's deaths he couldn't afford to allow the man to discover that his brother was alive. Harry refused to let any danger get close to his brother.

"You're right, you're absolutely right Potter. You have absolutely no reason to trust in me...in us." Susan began softly staring at him calmly. "I will admit that I have done you wrong in the past; slandering you, crusading against you and openly verbally assaulting you. I want to rectify that now; I'm sorry. I am truly, honestly sorry."

Harry could see the sincerity within her words. "Your apology is accepted, Bones. How about we start over?" He said with a gentle smile on his face holding out his hands towards her. "My name is Harry Potter, nice to meet you!"

The shock shined within her eyes, she was not expecting such answer before a soft smile stretched across her faces. She gripped the hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, my name's Susan Bones."

"Yes, yes, we're all friends now. Whatever," Daphne rolled her eyes at the sentimental display, shaking her head. "Now that we have all of that out of the way how about we all get down to business?"

"Business?" Harry repeated confused.

Now she looked rather irritated. "Yes Potter, business. Obviously there are things that we need to discuss, don't you agree?"

"Like what?" He was still rather lost.

"Do try to use your brain sometime Potter, stupidity doesn't suit you." Daphne drawled out shaking her head and leaned against her chair. Her fingers moved to her temple for several moments as she recomposed herself. "It seems being in the Lion's House has dimmed you down somewhat, or perhaps this is Granger's influence?"

Harry's eyes narrowed at her words. "What's that supposed to mean Greengrass?"

"As smart as Granger is she doesn't really know when to stop and think about her actions does she? Always believing that her way is the right one," the Slytherin answered waving her hand dryly, cocking an eyebrow. "Looking up to authority figures as if they're the next Merlin believing in every little word that comes from their mouths-"

"That may have been right back when she first arrived but she's grown since then," Harry protested vehemently glaring at Daphne.

The girl was taken aback by the sudden defense blinking several times before masking her expression. "Is that so? Hm. We'll see once we get to Hogwarts now won't we?"

"What do you have against Hermione anyway? She hasn't done anything to you as far as I know." Harry stated rather interested in why Daphne had gone after his friend like that, granted there had been times where Hermione had gotten on his nerves but they were rare and far between. When it came to homework she did have a habit of nagging and biting his and Ron's head off, however, even he could not deny the fact that they had deserved it though he liked to think those days were in the past. Especially since did the majority of his work he did on his own, only asking Hermione for help if necessary. Not that he had ever actually copied off of anyone anyway; it never sat right with him.

That had been more Ron's thing than his own though perhaps that hadn't been the right mentality and he should have discouraged his friend from copying off of Hermione. Though in retrospect he highly doubted that Ron would have listened to him, besides Hermione always did make him work for it in the end!

"It is not that Granger is not an intelligent person, Harry. Rather she has a habit of being closed minded," Su began calmly trying to placate the table taking deep breaths as her gaze fell over the table until settling upon Harry, even though she kept herself stoic. "She has a difficult time believing that it is possible for others to be right thrusting her ideologies upon others without considering certain customs that Purebloods and Half-bloods were raised with."

Harry frowned at her words. "I... don't really understand." Why customs was she talking about anyway?

"I believe that may be another reason why Daphne has brought you here today," Su added with a gentle smile on her face.

"Is this one of that Pureblood supremacy bullshit?" Harry growled coldly, his eyes narrowed into slits looking at the three gripping the edges of the table glaring at them. After the previous year he was in absolutely in no mood to be dealing with such pointless propaganda least of which was used by Voldemort and his followers. "If it I'm out of here. I don't believe it and will not be converted into that way of thinking-" And he made his way to leave.

Susan quickly lunged forward grabbing onto his arm. "It's not what you think it is Harry!"

"Then explain it to me!" Harry snapped at her, eyes flashing brightly. His mood had progressively gone downhill since this little intervention had started, frankly he just wanted to go back to his room in the Leaky Cauldron and fall asleep. This was just too much for handle.

"Just...calm down Potter," Daphne began swallowing thickly raising her hands in defense with a flicker emotion passing within her eyes. "I promise none of us support the Dark Lord, his ideologies or anything like that. We can swear an oath to you if want authenticity of our words."

_'Oaths?'_He thought vaguely. What type of magic was that?

"Judging by the confusion that's written on your face Potter you have no idea what an Oath is do you? In layman's terms it's like an agreement with magic, you could say. We can put our anything we have on the line, something we own; books, moneys, materials, even our own lives and magic if needed be. If what we say is false we'll be punished by having one of those stripped away from us, but if we say the truth then nothing will happen." Daphne explained raising her hands to the air.

A tense silence reigned over them feeling the intense stares burning directly at him. No one dared to do anything in fear of causing something to happen as each of them exchanged wary glances; none of them certain of how to proceed. They waited for his answer. Wanting to see just how he would respond. That much Harry was aware of, but how? That was the question having never been placed in a situation quite like this before he didn't want to risk alienating potential friends and doing something stupid like he usually did.

There was only one answer he could honestly give.

"I don't think an oath is necessary Greengrass," Harry ran his hand through his hair shaking his head. "I don't know why but..I trust you."

Daphne let out a long relieved sigh, allowing a tiny smile to grace her features. "Perhaps you're not as bad as Malfoy had portrayed you, Potter. That was quite honorable, I know a few Slytherins that would have jumped at the chance to get me in an Oath."

"What Malfoy has told you is pretty much worth dragon dung," Harry retorted not unkindly shrugging his shoulders and returned the smiled. "I'm glad that I've managed to chance your opinion of me."

"Don't push it Potter, you're long ways off before you can ever think about asking me out," Daphne rebuked teasingly, flashing a flirtatious wink on response grinning widely seeing the blush that began to spread across his face. "Oh my... is the little golden Gryffindor blushing?"

Harry averted his gaze. "N-not blushing!"

"Sure you aren't," Daphne smirked at him playfully. "Don't worry Potter, I'm sure in the next year or so you'll be ready. Once we're done with you, of course."

"What's that supposed to mea-"

"Don't worry about that right now," Susan interrupted, effectively cutting him off and smiled. "How about we focus on the now rather than the later, right girls?"

Daphne nodded her head arrogantly. "Yes, I quite agree Susan."

"I concur," Su agreed with a smile on her face.

Deciding not to question it further he merely nodded in silence.

"Just a bit off topic but why aren't you with Ron and Hermione? You three travel together everywhere," The Hufflepuff brought curiously.

A frown marred on his face managing to keep himself from going on a tirade of annoyance. "You know the three of us aren't attached at the hip, right?" A teasing grin took the place of the frown as Harry watched Susan blush deeply. "I came to Diagon Alley on my own. And, I haven't really gotten a chance to owl either of them."

"That was a dangerous move. You could have gotten yourself killed," Daphne interjected instantly.

Harry sent her a pointed look. "Let me guess it's because Sirius Black is after me because I killed his precious master right? What else is new, Quirrel tried to kill me twice during first year and then Voldemort's memory attempted again the previous year. I fail to see what makes this year so different."

"Quirrell?" Came Daphne's gawked.

"Memory?"

"You're taking this quite well," Su commented sincerely not at all bothered.

"I'm rather used to attempts on my life by now." Harry informed her shrugging absently; such things were nearly inevitable especially if one's name was 'Harry Potter'. "Worst case scenario I'll end up critically injured ending up in the hospital wing under Madam Pomfrey's care until the end of June when the train is about to leave."

The Asian girl giggled softly. "She's rather protective of her patients isn't she?"

"I'm convinced that the bed at the far end on the left has permanently become my bed," Harry said in all seriousness nodding firmly.

"At least you have a bed to sleep in if the need arises," Su pointed out.

Harry blinked tilting his heads and chuckled. "You have a point there, I'll have to remember that sometime. That is if Pomfrey would ever let me sleep there if I wasn't injured." The image of the infirmary appeared in his mind playing out the scenario, eventually him ending up getting thrown onto a bed and inspected inside and out. It was rather full of humors.

"Never hurts to ask," Su pointed out sagely, nodding.

"You have a point there," He chuckled at the response.

Daphne stared at them head swiftly between them before throwing her hands up dramatically. "You're nuts. The both of you!"

"I can tell that there's never going to be a dull moment with you, Harry." Susan giggled smiling widely.

Harry blushed shyly. "I-I don't know about that Susan." His eyes flickered to the ground suddenly finding it fascinating, glancing back up to see the smiling faces of the girls. Slowly a smile began to form, he still felt rather odd being complimented in such a manner though it had been a rather nice change.

"From the rumors that circulate around the school," Daphne began seriously eyeing him. "You live a rather interesting life."

Rumors. It was a normal thing at Hogwarts which many students used as a way to get news no matter how ridiculous it sounded; they would eat it up like no tomorrow. He had encountered quite a strange number of rumors; one in particular that remained in his mind had been the so-called declaration he was the Heir of Slytherin, thinking back on the event a lot of them had reason to believe in it once he had revealed that he was capable of speaking parseltongue. Not that he had known it was something to be looked down upon; all things considered he probably would have been on their side if things had been in reverse. Yet, it had taught him a valuable lesson about thinking for oneself and his opinion overall for the students of Hogwarts.

Which was already rather low to begin with.

"I wouldn't trust in rumors, Daphne. You never really know if there's any truth in them," Harry stated easily, not confirming or denying the accusation.

Su's lips twitched. "You already brought up Quirrell and He-who-must-be-named's memory." She pointed out.

Oh...yeah...shit.

Thankfully, Susan seemed to sense his discomfort and came to his rescue. "So, what classes are you taking this year Harry?"

"Hm? Oh, I decided on Care of Magical Creatures and Divination." Harry answered her. He didn't know what to sign up for, eventually settling on some that sounded rather interesting. "I've always liked animals growing up, so that's why I decided to take COMC-"

"And Divination?" Su prompted with curiosity.

Harry shrugged sheepishly. "It sounded interesting, being able to see into the future and read signs. And..."

"And?" Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"No one really bothered to tell me what Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were. I tried talking with Percy about it but all he told me to do was play by my strengths," When he had asked the third eldest Weasley he hadn't given him much information merely saying that piece of advice before heading somewhere else. When he tried to talk to Fred and George, neither of them had been much help due to being busy with developing a new prank and he was unable to find Angelina, Alicia or Katie to get their opinions and Oliver...

He thought it was best to leave Oliver to his own devices all things considered.

"I've always heard that Divination was a complete and total waste of time from what the upper years have said," Susan mentioned thoughtfully, tilting her head. "I don't know if that's true or not though. I think it's best for you to find that out for yourself."

"You could always drop it and take something else up instead," Su continued politely nodding.

"I guess," Harry murmured quietly, in all honesty his thoughts hadn't been on school at all and more focused upon finding his brother than anything else, if Divination did turn out to be useless at least he'd be able to use that class as an excuse to further his search instead of wasting time. "Are any of you taking Divination or Care of Magical Creatures?"

"I'm taking COMC, Ancient Runes," Susan answered with a giggle. "And Arithmancy, my Aunt Amelia pushed me towards it if I wanted to take over for her once I was of age."

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. They were the only courses I found practical and useful for the future," Daphne drawled out with a shrug. "My father is on the ICW and my mother is on the Healer Board at St. Mungos, inevitably I'll end up going into one of those careers. I'm leaning towards being a Healer rather than dealing with childish politicians."

"I'll be taking the same as Susan and Daphne. As the heiress to the Li Family I have a duty to my family to take over the company one day," Su said in a very calm and proud tone, her posture was straight upon saying this. "It's been passed down from mother to daughter for centuries ever since we lived in China and continued to grow when he re-located here to Britain, it deals with both the magical side and muggle side equally. We don't believe in any of that blood nonsense, just because one person has magic and the other does not means nothing. My father is actually a muggle believe it or not."

"My aunt is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Susan followed up after the other two girls, smiling. "I've always wanted to succeed her one day!"

For the first time in what seemed like forever a feeling of jealousy seemed to surface listening to the three talk about their family and their history's with such ease, he barely knew anything about his own parents other then they had been in Gryffindor and his father had been a Chaser; and it hadn't been for the lack of trying. He had tried to access the school archives and photos trying to find any of his parents friends only to turn up empty, even after asking Madam Pince for help hadn't done much either. When he had asked Hagrid about his parents his friend would instantly change the subject back to school, at first he had thought it was because the man didn't really know much but now that Harry was honestly thinking about it clearly now, maybe he had been hiding something?

It would explain why Daphne had brought up Sirius Black to him and perhaps why Hagrid was being so tight lipped about everything. Could that mean that they knew of his brother's existence? A moment of hesitation flicker within before dissipating, he highly doubted that.

The real question was where could he access information about his family anyway? The obvious answer had been Gringotts. But, he highly doubted that they would bother helping him with his family issues...right?

"What other things does Gringotts handle other than money?" Harry asked without beating around the bush.

The three girls had been rather surprised by the question, remaining quiet for another several moments before Susan answered. "Other than money? Not much from what my Auntie tells me, I know that they hire curse breakers, Wills, and all that."

"They also have a hand in travel too," Su Li piped him. Her eyes seemed fixated on him never blinking. "Why do you ask?"

"Just...curious," Come his stuttered answer, ignoring the air of disbelief that appeared. "That's all."

Daphne made a move to say something only to be stopped by Susan, who touched her hand sending a stern look at her causing the Slytherin girl to back down. Who knew that Susan had such a strong hold over the Ice Queen? It was rather funny.

But now he knew where to go and what needed to be done. That would be the first thing on his list to do once the next day came, leaving now would only elevate unnecessary suspicion. For now he would spend the day with his three new friends.

But once tomorrow came around he planned on springing his plan into action.

* * *

Chapter end.

And so ends chapter 3! I apologize for the long wait, this chapter was giving me a bit of grief in the beginning, but after beating it down it finally decided to cooperate with me! I also want to thank my beta; Shanagi95 for the awesome job that he did and all my readers and reviewers for giving their support for this fic!

For those who are questioning why Daphne knows about Sirius Black that will be revealed down the line in the chapters!

Make sure to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

With that until next time and make sure to leave constructive criticism in your review!


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